Read committed snapshot isolation level in sql server

In this video we will discuss Read committed snapshot isolation level in sql server. This is continuation Part 75. Please watch Part 75 from SQL Server tutorial before proceeding.

We will use the following table tblInventory in this demo

Read committed snapshot isolation level is not a different isolation level. It is a different way of implementing Read committed isolation level. One problem we have with Read Committed isloation level is that, it blocks the transaction if it is trying to read the data, that another transaction is updating at the same time.

The following example demonstrates the above point. Open 2 instances of SQL Server Management studio. From the first window execute Transaction 1 code and from the second window execute Transaction 2 code. Notice that Transaction 2 is blocked until Transaction 1 is completed.

--Transaction 1

SettransactionisolationlevelReadCommitted

BeginTransaction

Update
tblInventory set ItemsInStock = 5 where Id = 1

waitfordelay'00:00:10'

CommitTransaction

-- Transaction 2

Settransactionisolationlevelreadcommitted

BeginTransaction

Select
ItemsInStock from tblInventory where Id = 1

CommitTransaction

We can make Transaction 2 to use row versioning technique instead of locks by enabling Read committed snapshot isolation at the database level. Use the following command to enable READ_COMMITTED_SNAPSHOT isolation

Alterdatabase SampleDB SETREAD_COMMITTED_SNAPSHOTON

Please note : For the above statement to execute successfully all the other database connections should be closed.

After enabling READ_COMMITTED_SNAPSHOT, execute Transaction 1 first and then Transaction 2 simultaneously. Notice that the Transaction 2 is not blocked. It immediately returns the committed data that is in the database before Transaction 1 started. This is because Transaction 2 is now using Read committed snapshot isolation level.

Let's see if we can achieve the same thing using snapshot isolation level instead of read committed snapshot isolation level.

Step 1 : Turn off READ_COMMITTED_SNAPSHOT

Alterdatabase SampleDB SETREAD_COMMITTED_SNAPSHOTOFF

Step 2 : Enable snapshot isolation level at the database level

Alterdatabase SampleDB SETALLOW_SNAPSHOT_ISOLATIONON

Step 3 : Execute Transaction 1 first and then Transaction 2 simultaneously. Just like in the previous example, notice that the Transaction 2 is not blocked. It immediately returns the committed data that is in the database before Transaction 1 started.

--Transaction 1

SettransactionisolationlevelReadCommitted

BeginTransaction

Update
tblInventory set ItemsInStock = 5 where Id = 1

waitfordelay'00:00:10'

CommitTransaction

-- Transaction 2

Settransactionisolationlevelsnapshot

BeginTransaction

Select
ItemsInStock from tblInventory where Id = 1

CommitTransaction

So what is the point in using read committed snapshot isolation level over snapshot isolation level?There are some differences between read committed snapshot isolation level and snapshot isolation level. We will discuss these in our next video.